NEW YORK (EJP)— Two men were arrested in the US for planning attacks against Israeli and US targets in Panama and New York on behalf of Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, the US Department of Justice announced. The arrests took place on June.
Ali Kourani was arrested in the Bronx, while Samer El Debek was arrested in Michigan. Both men were arrested for "providing, attempting, and conspiring to provide material support to Hezbollah; and receiving and conspiring to receive military-type training from Hezbollah." Both were also arrested for a related weapons offense, which involved explosives, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns.
The two men were recruited to Hezbollah, went through significant training, and performed different missions on behalf of the organization’s unit in charge of “planning and coordination of intelligence, counterintelligence, and terrorist activities” mostly overseas.
Some of these missions involved locating U.S. and Israeli embassies abroad, possibly as part of preparations to attack these facilities. Moreover, one of the two individuals allegedly was responsible for “identifying individuals affiliated with the Israeli Defense Force, gathering information regarding operations and security at airports in the U.S. and elsewhere, and surveilling U.S. military and law enforcement facilities in Manhattan and Brooklyn.”
Kourani was born in Lebanon and legally entered the US in 2003, where he received a degree in biomedical engineering and an MBA. Prior to his arrival in the US, Kourani participated in a Hezbollah-sponsored weapons training program.
El Debek is a naturalized US citizen, who received Hezbollah training from 2008 to 2014. In emails, he wrote of his support for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The FBI allege that El Debek received "extensive" training as a bomb-maker. El Debek searched inflammatory terms on Facebook including "martyrs of Islamic resistance” and “Hizballah martyrs” more than 250 times.
Hezbollah is listed as terrorist organization by the United States and Israel. In the EU the ‘’military wing’’ of the group is on the list of terror organizations.
The two arrests follows a testimony by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearings in which a series of recommendations designed to limit the influence, capability, and reach of the Lebanese terror group were presented.
Hezbollah is responsible for the murder of many Americans and Jews worldwide.
ADL's Center on Extremism has been tracking Hezbollah’s activities in the U.S., which focused mostly on gathering and sending money to the organization, what makes this arrest unique.
“We applaud law enforcement’s important work in fighting terrorism domestically and abroad,” said ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt. ‘’Hezbollah continues to be a significant threat to the United States and to one of its key allies, Israel, and these recent arrests prove that we must continue to invest in this fight."
ADL’s Center on Extremism fights extremism, terrorism and all forms of hate in the real world and cyberspace with unmatched capabilities in research, analysis, investigation, and online monitoring. Recognized as the foremost authority on extremism, the Center provides resources, expertise and training which enables law enforcement, public officials, community leaders and internet and technology companies to identify and counter emerging threats.